Random Threads # 31: Darts, detergent and Bootstrap Fashion Custom Dress Form

It seems like I have been trying to write this Random Threads post for about 2 weeks, but never quite had the time. We are having a glorious weather week now in the Bay Area and I just came in from planting a bunch of annuals, some weed pulling and some attempts to get the climbing roses to trail where I want them to. Sitting in front of my laptop seems like a relaxation by comparison. It also seems like I've been sewing nonstop for weeks, so it's good to take a break and get outside for some yard work. The nonstop sewing included finishing a couple of things that were winter items - and I might get a couple of wearings before the it is just too warm.

I've been making a few versions of a dress from Tessuti patterns, their Bondi dress. We are doing a class at Hello Stitch in April to sew this dress, and the pattern is included in the class. We also will have one of each size sewn up so you can come into the studio and try on to find your perfect size. More on my other classes below but let's get to Random Threads!

New Pattern Releases: every time there is a new pattern release I tend to think "hmm...not at all interesting" and then a few weeks/months/years later I buy the patterns. Do you jump on the new patterns or let them marinate a while? Even the new Burda magazines, I'm just now finding things I would like to make from the Dec. and Jan. issues and the spring issues are kind of bland. Which means in about 3 months I will find all kinds of stuff to sew in them :)  Late breaking edit: I just looked at the Burda May issue preview and line drawings and meh, nothing interesting. Just saw the new Vogue Summer release, and again, not so much. With the exception of Vogue 1584 Tracy Reese knit dress which is all kinds of interesting and I hope to get to that this summer.

How do you Pin? Now that I have lots of students I am fascinated to see how people pin when they are sewing. Generally I can only do it one way, it's not necessarily right or wrong, but based on the fact that I am right-handed, and it seems the sewing machine is set up to favor a particular way.



I put the heads of the pins on the edge of the fabric, as this makes it easier to remove them with my right hand and also easier to pin them in. But so many people put them in with the heads of the pins towards the garment. Do you do it a specific way, or have you even thought about it. Note that the photo above is exaggerated - I am always trying to get students to use fewer pins. I think newish garment sewers tend to put too many pins which is cumbersome and probably not needed but it does take some practice to use few or no pins.

Direction and angle of darts: Oh this is my obsession of the week. Bust darts that are completely horizontal just drive me crazy. I think they look so odd. But perhaps this is a question of personal preference and it is not something anyone else notices. We all have our own little obsessions, things that just bug, yours could be collar shape, or pocket placement, and mine is dart position.



To me the bust darts that are completely horizontal look cartoony. I didn't want to include finished garments as I haven't sewn anything that I could recall with this feature, but here are a few line drawings to illustrate this. Have you noticed this? What is your irrational annoyance in pattern design?

Changing your mind mid-project: I'm in the middle of making a shirt from a recent Burda magazine and about half way through decided that the fabric was all wrong for the style. Or not really so bad but it would be better as something else. Plus our weather is heading towards hot so what was I thinking making a long sleeve shirt?



I had been making this shirt from the April issue (see, trying to make something right away does not work out for me :)  It's a cute shirt and I will revisit it in the fall. Meanwhile I just bought this envelope pattern, which I'm sure I saw in a magazine in the last year or two. Anyway I had not cut out the sleeves for the shirt, sometimes I do that when sewing, just cut out the pieces that I need to start and wait on the other details like sleeves. Consequently I will use the back as is and then I can eke out the front and ruffle from my remaining fabric. This silk almost-chiffon is more suited to a ruffle top than a darted one.

My new favorite blog: Sea of Teal.  Here's a link to a great outfit post. There is something about her style that I find really appealing. And I'm always glad to find a new to me blog with someone making coats or jackets in addition to all the other wardrobe components.

Dark fabrics in the laundry: Are HE (high efficiency) washing machines actually lower in efficiency? I ask because mine is causing all kinds of frustration when I follow all the guidelines and wash dark fabrics, particularly denim.


I washed this piece of black denim, which has gold metallic threads, very cool and will be turned into a summer little black dress of the casual variety. But boo hoo, I put it in the wash with other dark garments, used the minimal liquid laundry detergent, set the machine for 2 rinses, and STILL have some white blobs of detergent. I get this all the time with jeans and other dark clothes. I think the high efficiency is somewhat of a joke as it does not rinse properly. SO less water allegedly but sometimes I have to rinse and spin a 2nd time. Any suggestions? I did rinse and spin again and the spots are gone but :(

Custom Dressforms: So often people ask me about sewing and ask the usual questions such as "do you have a super fancy sewing machine" my answer is no (pretty much the opposite.) Do you have to use a dress form? Again my answer is no. It's nice to have but something I sewed for myself without for most of my life. I do have a couple of form now, one adjustable one was a Christmas gift, a couple that I bought at garage sales, and now people have given me a couple. In fact I kind of have too many! But last year Yuliya from Bootstrap Fashion Patterns contacted me and asked me if I would try out her new patterns for sewing a custom sized dress form. I was interested but to my slight embarrassment it has taken me up to now to get it completed.

My verdict is that is amazing! and like anything else in the sewing world, takes a bit of effort, might need some adjusting here or there but on the whole it is a great option if you want a dress form for your figure.

Here's the image from their website and the link to this pattern page.



Let's dive into the details.   For starters I suggest you look at the Bootstrap Fashion page, and watch the video to see if it's something you would want to do. I have been planning to do this for months, ordered the pattern last year and finally printed it out and sewed it up. I didn't take all that many photos as I was constructing but a few so you can get the idea of the process.  So I'm adding those photos here, with some details however I just wrote an extensive review on PatternReview.com so read that for more info. I will put the highlights and some of my advice here but definitely click over to that review as well. I made this using the measurements of someone I sew for regularly and it's pretty close to their shape.

First thing - get a friend to help with the measurements. Some of them are quite specific and it's not really possible to do them on yourself. Here is the input screen, on each measurement there is a little question mark and red asterisk, if you click on that you get the little illustration to show how to measure which is really helpful. I printed out these screens so I could make notes of the measurements and then put them in the order when I had time to concentrate on it.



The info about what fabric to use and the interfacing was invaluable, and I suggest following it. I followed their advice to create my paper pattern pieces, lay them out on fabric to determine just how much was needed. Saved some $ on the amount of fabric and interfacing which was less than I anticipated and then I could buy just what I needed. And also fuse just what was needed.

Here are the main body pattern pieces. Not too difficult to assemble, sewing-wise.



Here's a closer look at the pattern pieces. See all the different shape and size notches. Quite helpful and they matched up perfectly. I added 1/2" seam allowance - not sure why I chose that, probably 3/8" might be even easier to sew.



This array above shows the pattern pieces for all the structure and internal support pieces, and the cardboard pieces. They look like kind of an odd shape, but how it goes together is that the body cavity is in half and supported down the center by two very firm pieces of fabric, so actually when you go to stuff it you are stuffing two the separate sides.



Here is one half of each front and back side by side so you can see how it looks prior to sewing it into a body shape. The horizontal lines are clever, at hip, waist, underbust and bust. I did them in a not too contrasty thread color - and skipped the one that goes across the bust cup, not sure why and I regret that now. I think the zig-zag stitching both gives you the horizontal lines, tames the seam allowances inside somewhat, and stabilizes the fabric in the horizontal direction so you don't over stuff.



Here's a look at almost finished construction. You create pockets at the armhole where a piece of cardboard is slipped in, to reinforce that area. Clever! The piece at the top with the rows of stitching is the internal vertical support. You can see it has a fabric tube in the center where the PVC pipe goes to hold the thing upright.

This one is a bit sad looking - during the stuffing process it has the look of a deflated balloon when you are part of the way through. Read the details on my review to see what mistakes I made during these stages. But to sum up - you could do it on your own but having a helper is a plus. Stuff it all on one session. Measure as you go (which the video tells you to do) Don't over stuff.



I put a few more photos on the review. You can see my stuffing is a tiny bit lumpy in places. I found that if you work with it, almost knead it a bit like you would with other things you stuff (pillows etc) it smooths out and gets the shape you want.




So to summarize a few of my thoughts and observations.

• The instructions are really good. I suggest watching the video, reading through thoroughly and then assembling all your supplies before you start.
• The whole thing takes a good amount of time. I am a really fast sewer (and at cutting out) but between printing the pattern pages, assembling, adding seam allowances, fusing interfacing, then cutting out, marking precisely, and then stitching up it is a good bit of time. Maybe 10-15 hours? This portion of the whole project can be done in lots of small increments as your time permits.
• Stuffing - have a LOT of the stuffing available. Buy more than you need and return if too much. Have someone help you - it gets a bit awkward to wrangle as it gets more stuffed. Do the stuffing in one session and close 'er up 😅. Measure the circumference at hip. waist, bust etc which helps you get it stuffed correctly.
• Cost:  the pattern is about $ 25. Supplies include the PVC pipe, glue, sponge, fabric, fusible interfacing... stuffing, Lots of Stuffing! I think I spent about $ 70. So the total is closing in on $ 100. I was able to put the form on the base of an old broken form. I read an idea about taking an old desk chair, removing the chair part and using the wheeled base - clever! Having wheels on a dress form is the best. I have one with wheels and it so handy. Measure carefully the base, pipe diameter etc.  All that info in included in the instructions.  
• Fit: the pattern pieces did sew up to the correct measurements that I input. I especially like how the shoulders, neckline etc are the correct size, i.e. a body double. The shape of the bust is a bit generic but that was to be expected. I think I might input measurements that are slightly smaller than the actual body I was trying to do, and then have some wiggle room to pad out in places as needed. 

I hope this helps any of you who are interested in doing this. While it was a good amount of work it has a nice result. I'm generally not a person who does fitting on the dress form which a lot of people seem to think is the answer to everything (prefer to do by measuring the pattern) but having a dress form is nice, helps visualize things, get proportions right, is great for placing items on during construction. And if you can use it for fitting then that is a bonus. 

Up next - I am thinking spring although I have plenty of end of winter items still to blog. I posted a few peeks at my McCalls 7549 jacket so that might be next here. 

Classes I'm teaching in the upcoming months at Hello Stitch Studio in Berkeley are a mix of one's we offered before such as Garment Copy, Pattern Reading, and Knit T-shirt, plus some new ones which are Pencil Skirt class and a Pants fit clinic. And next weekend's Jacket class has spots open so if you want to see me construct a jacket and see demos of all kinds of tips and tricks for fast tailoring please join us.

Edit for Sat. April 7: thanks for all the info on the HE washing machine, I will try using a very small amount of detergent.
And what? few comments on the custom dress form - that's what I thought would be the item of interest on this Random Threads 😄.

Happy Spring Sewing, 

Beth

Today's garden photo - it's tulip time!!

Random Threads # 28

Hey it's been quite a while since the last Random Threads post - my notebook page is filled up with topics to discuss.

What have I been up to? Teaching classes at Hello Stitch Studio - each class takes a bit of thought beforehand, sewing up samples to illustrate various techniques or just to work out how to demonstrate things. This week I had a class on sewing button front shirts which I cleverly combined (ha ha) with writing a post for Craftsy on the topic: how to attach the collar. Some sewing for others, which I don't do for a lot of people, just a few that I enjoy working with. A little pattern testing for my favorite indie pattern designer (Pauline Alice patterns). Some planning for fall sewing - including making up a sample jacket for an upcoming class. Jacket weekend! I am often asked about doing a class for sewing jackets so check it out on the Hello Stitch website if you are interested.

Which brings me to my first topic - How long does it take you to cut something out? I realize that I've been sewing for ages plus I am one of those people who do things fast whether it is washing the dishes or reading a book, or walking through a store. But I am realizing that the cutting out part of making a garment takes a good chunk of time. And it doesn't need to! Mostly I try to get people to be less tentative with the scissors. Tiny half inch snips are going to take forever when cutting a long center back seam. Trust your coordination and use the whole scissors. Get sharp scissors, pin enough so the pattern piece doesn't shift but not every 3 inches. Relax, breathe. Cutting out should be less painful. Also my last tip - before the first cut, step back, look it over, review all the pieces and then proceed with confidence. Does cutting out stress you out?

Ready to Wear isn't perfect either.  A friend of mine bought a dress that needed shortening, so I had her stand still while I marked the hem all around. I usually run a thread trace around where I have put the line of pins so I can remove the pins, have a temporary but stable hem indicator, and then I can hem it whenever without concern that the pins will come out.



Granted that few of us are perfectly evenly built, most of us have a higher hip or lower shoulder that affects the hem. When I looked at the two side seams I had pinned up so much more on one side. It made me question my work and it seemed that I was drastically folding up one side seam more than the other. For some reason I thought - check the side seams and look, one side seam is about 3/4" longer than the other. On a $ 500 dress! Mystery solved and my ego stroked about my own precise sewing :)

Sewing verbiage around the world. My fellow Americans, does it sound strange to you when you read that something has an "elasticated" waist? That sounds so weird to me. I would say elastic waist. Don't get me started on the phrase "my make". I know it's popular but it makes me want to tear my hair out. I love the Great British Baking show and they say "bring your bakes" to the table. So has this verb into noun conversion taken over the UK?  Reading blogs written by people all over the world is great fun but when I stumble across one of these weird to me grammatical constructions I stop short and gnash my teeth momentarily. Probably silly I know but just one of those pet peeves. I am imagining a UK reader of sewing blogs with a pet peeve along the lines of "those annoying Yanks boasting about their 10 for $ 10 pattern sales" Or maybe we have some grammar quirk that gets under their skin. Just for curiosity I would love to know what American idioms annoy you on a sewing blog.

An interesting life: Lucy Spector, one of the founding owners of Britex Fabrics in San Francisco passed away recently and the San Francisco Chronicle had a long obituary on her. She had such an interesting life and great style. If you like to read about successful women in business when that was more of a rarity check it out.

When I make a mistake it usually is a whopper: as evidenced by this picture.



The story here is that I was making a pattern from an existing dress for a sewing client. The pattern making turned out very well especially considering it was a complicated dress with lots of pieces (actually more pieces can be easier to reproduce). So I was feeling very pleased wth myself and started sewing up a test version in this bubblegum pink cotton? linen? unidentified fabric in my stash that was a good candidate for this type of dress. And thought, I will sew it for real with serging and everything in case someone wants it. The dress has a front and back yoke where the body pieces attach. So you can see that I cleverly attached the dress front to the yoke front not even noticing that the back yoke had a lovely 360˚ twist - no that is not a design feature. aaarrrgh!! Had to detach the dress front including undoing that serging, untwist and start again. Better to discover it now rather than later I guess:)

Here are three things that I don't care about: Wardrobe planning - inspiration boards - sewing basics. These often go together and if I see articles or blog posts I am likely to pass them by. Do you find these topics interesting? The sewing or wardrobe pieces are typically so....well, basic. These often go with a new pattern release that is super simple (perhaps you know which pattern company I might be referring to) and I think "after all that navel gazing THAT is the new pattern you came up with? For $ 18???"  As I often say - I am not the target market for this type of clothing but really, semi-new stitchers - stretch yourself a little and find some patterns with an interesting details. And no, a split hem detail on a top does not indicate an interesting detail.  Is that enough from your grumpy sewing correspondent? Because...

The Mood Fabrics blog shows some truly odd stuff - I DO NOT mean the Mood Sewing Network, which showcases a lot of great home sewers who are very accomplished and choose really nice fabrics, sew up stuff I want and inspire me to shop the Mood website. But they have another blog, which you can click to on the bottom of their store website, Mood Sewciety, more of a DIY with fabrics and I find the stuff they show seriously questionable. The stuff rarely fits, the sewing is sloppy and who are they inspiring with that?   On a different note - I have ordered a few things from Mood this summer and they have all been great.

More notches! I don't know where I found this blog but she posts some interesting things and her point of view is as a trained pattern designer and dressmaker. She mostly does children's wear and tries a number of PDF patterns but her comments and critiques on those patterns also apply to anyone designing and selling patterns. Her recent post "Why are pattern notches missing in PDF patterns?" was really interesting and explains some things I have been wondering. These past few months I had been sewing a number of indie patterns and hmmmm....I'm not all that impressed. Sometimes the instructions, which are designed to handhold someone learning the new construction techniques are really wordy, more confusing than a good diagram with arrows and steps indicated. (large, please. Tiny, pale, cute, slightly cartoonish diagrams help nobody even though they may look stylish or match your brand esthetic).

Wearing something which strays from your typical style: a few people commented on my last blog post and on Instagram that my most recent sewing project, the Mirambell skirt from Pauline Alice patterns was an unusual style for me. While it is black, a color I rarely sew or wear, the silhouette seemed like something I have sewn quite a few times before. I wonder what it was that seemed different? The full skirt? Here's an example of that style which I've made although this one is a bit eye-searing. Or this one, the first Bootstrap Fashion pattern that I sewed. I've been trying to expand my sewing choices and sew different shapes or even colors with some mixed success. My preliminary finding is that if I am lukewarm on a color no matter how nicely a garment turns out I will not be excited to wear it.

That's all for today, I covered almost all my topics. I saw a couple of new things that I will save for a future post, including new Fall pattern releases from Vogue and Simplicity. (quick comment - Vogue some interesting stuff but not a thing that makes me want to buy it now in the heat of summer. Simplicity, a couple of really good coat patterns that I might recommend when it gets closer to coat time).

Sneak peek of something I just finished, I'm on an eyelet kick this summer.



We're hopefully at the tail end of another 100˚F heat wave here - although when I drive over to Hello Stitch which is about 15 min. from my house the temperature can be a good 20˚F lower. The bay area summer! a mystery to visitors and bring a sweatshirt because it is cold by the ocean (in the best possible way :).

So I am not thinking about fall sewing, we have a good 2 more months of summery weather ahead. How about you?

Happy summer sewing, and stay cool!  
Beth

I'm off to swim now and disregard my garden which must fend for itself in these lazy summer days. Fortunately the dahlias do their own thing and always surprise me with the color of the blooms. I plant them but don't label so what comes up in each spot is a very pleasant surprise.




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Burda 6782 jacket with boucle from Mood

Here is something that took me quite a while to finish, and yet once it was finally basted together for final stitching I did breathe a sigh of relief, and appreciate this lovely fabric. My pal Heather bought this fabric at Mood during her summer 2015 trip to NY, where she did some solo shopping and came back with quite a few goodies. Some of which are still in my stack of "to do". In this case, she was quite willing to wait until my inspiration developed, although this one did say jacket when I pulled it out of the box. It said jacket - but I screamed, "Stripes!"
OK - just between us sewing types, you know the feeling, when you are confronted with the fabric and kind of wish it was anything else. Like a nice, simple solid color! or random pattern that needs no special treatment! Of the various fabrics she bought on that trip (which includes some luscious silks waiting to be turned into a summer maxi) 3 of 6 were striped, or panels that need careful cutting.
Oh well - text and FaceTime long distance shopping only goes so far.

Enough about that. Like I said, she was in no hurry so slow and steady were the order of the day.



I have never sewn with a genuine Linton tweed but seen some samples that a friend ordered, and this very much reminded me of those. It is very loosely woven, actually a bit delicate, and the grayish stripes seem like satin ribbon or some kind of shimmery fiber. We had enough yardage to make a jacket and then a skirt but she is not really a skirt wearer - she prefers dresses so I suggested a jacket and then a dress with the boucle for the skirt and then a solid color on top.
I had very little hope of finding something suitable and figured that might be tricky, but I walked into Stone Mountain Fabrics in Berkeley with my boucle swatch and they had a shelf of wool double knits - so this coral pick color was an absolutely perfect match and weight. Lucky score - or lucky me to have such a great fabric store so nearby.

Here's the one and only pic I took of Heather when she came to pick up this outfit. It was one of our 100˚ + days in August and even with the AC on it was Hot! so just a quick barefoot pic :)



Here is the pattern I used for the jacket. I really liked this pattern as it combined some of the look of traditional jacket but has some nice features that make it work for a plus or full busted figure. Not sure if you can see it in the tech drawing but it has a princess seam down the front, and then a regular bust dart. I also like the open V neckline. The other version with the attached collar/lapel is also nice - might have to try that one now that I have all the fit changes worked out. And in a solid color!



Because whew - the fitting was a bit tricky - in a solid you can do a little cheating with fit adjustments with with a horizontal stripe like this any change needs to be very exact and then also be accommodated to keep the stripes level and matching.



Here's the dress, I only have this view on the dress form which is not really how it looks on, the fact that the top portion is a knit means that it fits very closely yet has plenty of ease. This wool double-knit is like a very thick ponte - I love this fabric and would use it again. Not that it is probably a lot warmer to wear than a rayon ponte - so keep that in mind if you try it.


How about some sewing? Oh and by the way - this boucle is completely fused - every piece - with Pro-Weft Supreme lightweight woven fusible (this one). Why? because I started with the jacket front, and had the jacket front stabilized with silk organza, and the edges taped. Then I put it on the dress form and it was just so limp. And with this open weave I didn't think it would survive much wearing. So I did some testing and liked the texture and drape with the fusible. Particularly for the skirt pieces it seemed that they would need more than just lining, so fusible comes to the rescue.



After that little hiccup I moved on to more fitting. As usual, making the sleeve for a jacket where I have sliced and diced and adjusted the pattern a lot is then a bit tricky. I did use my trick of making a muslin test sleeve, fitting that into the real jacket, getting it to feel and fit just right and then cutting it out last. I even went so far as to mark the horizontal lines on the muslin so I could then place the pattern pieces on the boucle and have the sleeves match. Ok time to admit - this project was kind of agonizing.
See all those various colors of basting thread holding the sleeve in - those are my various tests on the armhole - which changed shape a bit as things went along. And on my desk I have a lot of scribbly notes such as " left sleeve use pink thread baste, move shoulder in 1/4", sew at 3/4" not 5/8" which I write down in the heat of the moment and then go back to later to try to decipher my own clues. And always resolve to be more methodical with my notes. And I never am! So far lucky...



Check out that ravel-y fabric. Oh yes, this one wants to start disintegrating as soon as you touch it. But  once inside the lining it doesn't matter so no seam finishes, just healthy seam allowances, pressed down and sometimes catch-stitched so they stay in place.

This is a really good view of the fabric and how loosely it is woven, it actually seems like a collection of ribbons woven together. And more of my thread traces to mark the hem edge. I had to bring out the neon green after I used all my other colors on various sections.



Here is the result of all that persnickety matching - I was so satisfied if I do say so myself! This is one of those fabrics where it doesn't seem all that stripes - but if they weren't lined up it would be so jarring and look off kilter. So I'm glad I took my time on this one.




The dress is a pattern I have used for Heather previously, it is a Bootstrap Fashion pattern that I ordered using her specific measurements, here's the link to the specific one I used. I've used this pattern twice for her, changing out the sleeves and then omitting the peplum thing. In this version I also omitted the  waistband. With these patterns I've found the fit to definitely be in the ballpark. Depending on how much your figure is different from the standard on other sewing patterns (both in circumference and height) then these patterns are useful although not necessarily the answer to everything. I find they do have the right amount of ease (i.e. not too much) and the height measurements are amazingly good (length, where the bust and waist hit, etc) the fit in the bust can be problematic as you go up in size but the fit in the shoulders/neck is usually pretty good, so some more adjustment in the bust area seems like a reasonable thing to have to do for the rest of it to be more or less a good fit.

What else? We decided to omit the button for a variety of reasons. She said she never buttons a jacket closed, also I tested bound buttonholes on scraps and they were hideous - this fabric just didn't want to form into buttonholes. Machine buttonholes I know wouldn't work, this was too nubbly and thick to fit under my attachment. So whew - she didn't want them anyway :)

I made a three piece sleeve as I needed to do some fit adjustments and this was the best way to get the shaping needed. More stripe matching! Also in this view you can see the bust dart. I believe I added length to the front and enlarged the dart a bit, then adjusting the side panel and back to match. I like the way the dart is angled, it really gives nice shaping but isn't an intrusive dart. What is an intrusive dart? one that I notice, like an arrow. I guess this is a style choice - there are a few indie patterns that I look at and all I can see is the dart placement (which looks wrong and too horizontal to me). So Burda seems to get this right pretty often. In fact I will say it again, for plus sizes I think Burda is such a winner - and with the envelope patterns or the downloadable pdfs I can find just about any style that I am looking for. 

Last look, the lining. I decided on a pale grey lining instead of a cream color. You know how an item with a white or light lining looks around the neckline after a few wearings - not my fav so a grey lining is a bit more practical. The bodice portion is lined in a coral pink.




So that's the scoop on the epic boucle jacket project. I have sewn so many things since I finished this and need to get going on my blog backlog.

Life and travel keep getting in the way. Speaking of travel - did you see this Instagram post - read carefully :) and maybe I will see you there! Hope so!

And I have even found my fall sewing mojo -despite our lingering summer weather. Sneak peek- I finished this to add to my ever growing stockpile of coats that I don't need but sew anyway because I love to.  Blog post soon. And an interesting pattern journey that ended in a repeat.




Happy "is it fall where you are?" sewing,
Beth

Today's garden photo - oh it is at a low ebb around here, just dry and nothing blooming and leaves piling up. But this vine is a winner - I wish I had bought 3 when I found this at Home Depot a few years ago. Just keeps climbing the fence and blooming throughout the summer. Not flashy but dependable. Every garden needs lots of those.

New Look 6677 + eyelet = summer top perfection

It is entirely possible that I have achieved peak summer top perfection with my latest sewing project. For which I will take partial credit - as this top is for my friend Alice. Who looks so very good in blue. (Which we have already established here - a look at a blue silk jersey dress I sewed for her).

She is always in search of the perfect tunic top, summer or winter version. Recently she did a big clean out and gave me a bunch of patterns she will never use, including the little gem that became this top.



The minute I finished it I started again on another one, for myself in a small remnant of silk so I will show that one soon.




Perfection in a summer top, right?  Of course the color is fantastic - and this fabric is really nice. She bought it in May when we were shopping over at Stone Mountain. I was just there on Monday and I think they still have this color. Now that I've seen this one I want a version for myself in emerald green, although my web searching has not turned up that color way.

Here is the pattern which at first glance might not look very promising. It has a date of 2007 on the envelope so long out of print.



And now I will give my encouragement to try New Look patterns. I'm not sure if they are readily available in other countries but I think so as I have seen them on plenty of UK and Australian sewing blogs. All their patterns are one price ($ 3.99 here in the US) so relatively cheap. They include all the sizes in one pattern envelope. Although their size range is usually more limited than Simplicity or Vogue. Looking at the back of the pattern envelope this one is sizes US 10-22, EU size 36-48, bust measure for those sizes they list as 32"-44". I find their pattern markings to be excellent - and their instructions are good.

But the best part of their patterns typically is that they have more than one view in the pattern envelope. In fact they often have at least two completely different looks. Value for your money. See above  - those tops really have no connection style-wise other than they are in the same envelope. And are vaguely tunic top-y. They have some dress patterns that include mix and match components with different skirt, neckline and sleeve variations where you could make 10 different dresses if you were obsessively inclined to put a pattern through its paces. ALSO - for those of you who think Simplicity patterns have excessive ease, particularly in the neck and shoulders - which is my personal nemesis in pattern fit - then take a look at New Look. I find they have a smaller frame across that area and don't tend to be as large. I have mostly made dresses and tops from New Look patterns including my favorite NL 6150 knit top. Although this one might be my new favorite :)  Lately I have been doing a lot of PDF downloads from the Burda website, as well as a couple of Bootstrap custom patterns and while those are great it is such a pleasure to just use a tissue pattern from the envelope. No printing, no taping, finished garment measurements printed right on there, no seam allowances to add. Easy peasy!

Sewing info: not really all that much to tell on this one. Other than the slightly tricky issue of how to interface that placket and collar.
Can you see it? The interfacing? No, well then my lucky dip into my interfacing stash was a success. I happened to have some silk organza in a color that I would describe as beige/gold/nude. So kind of a non-color and definitely not white. Which turned out to be perfect for the placket and collar so it disappears inside. You don't see it and it preserves the eyelet look in that area. White would have been hideous and also fusible would not have worked either. Silk organza for the win! Plus it has just the right level of body and structure to support the cotton eyelet without changing it.



Other adjustments - well obviously - cut in armholes! As I always do. Because I can't stand a sleeveless top with clunky wide shoulders. Alice had used this pattern before so it was a bit chopped up, she had used it previously and made the size 10, which cut off the other sizes in some pieces. However thanks to New Look, the placket was there in all the other sizes (that is a thing they do in their patterns, instead of nesting all the sizes often the facings/plackets/collars etc are each printed in their own size, which makes finding and using a lot easier. And she had mentioned that it was a bit constricting across the shoulders when she made it before, so I morphed this one into a blend of size 10 and 12 to give a bit more room across the back and through the neckline. But the length of the placket in the size 10 was just right so I used that.

And she wanted the hem edge to take advantage of the scalloped selvedge. Which she mentioned, oh I don't know maybe 4 or 5 (or 10) times. Which was worth mentioning because it is so cute ! Also I lengthened the pattern by 4 inches. You can see I tried to match up the rows of eyelet, not that I think it is noticeable but why not? Actually above on the placket I cut all the pieces exactly the same so the left and right side would match. Not that they it is noticeable  but I think if they were not then it would be noticeable, in a not so good way. Does that make sense?



A few more pictures.











I think it is going to be a hot one here today and through the weekend - so these floaty tops are becoming wardrobe staples. Here is a little sneak peek of the version I sewed for myself - recognize this fabric?



On another note - I think it is time for a new Pattern Whisperer post. I was thinking of skirts - or any requests?

Happy Summer Sewing,
Beth

today's garden photo, some pink gladiolus which were the last few bulbs remaining in the bag when I had planted a bunch throughout the yard. And so I stuck them in the not so great soil in the retaining wall next to this blue/purple hydrangea. And what a great color combo they turned out to be. 

Random Threads # 18, saving, keeping, treasuring, hoarding?

Still an extravaganza of shirt sewing going on here, this latest one using the same pattern (why change a good thing) but this version is silk crepe de chine, in a lovely teal green color. I am trying to sew with perfection as this is the type of thing that stays in my wardrobe for ages, a solid color silk blouse is such a great item. Also I am doing the hidden buttonhole placket down the front - so stay tuned in the near future for a comprehensive post on how to do that.

But today's title is Random Threads - so here are a few of my random topic notes. And keep reading if you like 50's vintage - a peek at one of my treasures lower down in the post.

Hemming RTW jeans - are you like me and need to lop off a good 3 to 8 inches depending on the style? I always wonder who they are made for and then I talk with taller friends who complain about too-short RTW jeans. Something for everyone (to be bothered by). I have a process which might seem a bit convoluted but you know, shrinkage, ha. Anyway I usually wash jeans immediately, and let them hang dry, then press and try them on with various heel heights, decided on a hem length. and then just tack the hem well enough so it stays but can't be seen on the right side. You can see here that the hem allowance is tacked to the side seams and just a bit in center front and back. So I wear them this way for a while - a good while, and decide if I like the length. I might wash again to see if they shrink any more. Jeans always seem to shrink in length not circumference, right? Sometimes wearing them this way even starts to make that wear line right at the edge. which is the beauty of the second shrink - then I lengthen them about a half inch, hem and machine stitch over any wear line. Does this sound like a lot of trouble? Possibly but I hate it when I have jeans just right and then they come through the wash a good bit shorter. Also  - the duct tape hem. Or packing tape, or any tape at hand. I have done that a LOT! In college, traveling in Europe, new jeans plus a roll of tape and a few minutes of focus and you are good to go. Using whatever is at hand for a measuring device. Folded paper works perfectly! So this week I just hemmed these jeans which are a year old. Decided the length was OK so time to hem :) I still have no interest in sewing regular denim jeans despite getting very close to a good fit on my Bootstrap Pattern jeans I showed in my previous post, but I do want to sew some other types of pants. I have had a craving for some "crazy pants" i.e. some wild print pants in a casual cotton to wear in the spring. So that might happen.




Do you keep scraps? Paper, fabric, vegetables? Turning to my desk I find plenty of paper scraps with various topics scrawled on then. I have some nice notebooks and always have the idea to keep all my sewing notes in one, but I am a scrap paper saver thus they are always at hand. Are you a paper saver? It seems a shame to waste big gobs of blank paper that come in the mail,  all sorts of stupid things, bills that have "this page intentionally blank". What idiot came up with that one? So wasteful. But on my desk, at the kitchen counter, even a few in my car, scraps of paper for lists.

Consequently I will claim that I am not a hoarder but I hate to throw out things that are still useful or potentially so. It seems so wasteful. I have mentioned before but I come from a long line of string savers (didn't you have a grandma that saved string or a dad with cans of assorted nails, screws and other fasteners tucked away on the workbench?) Here is my small bin of interfacing scraps. They get used for things like stabilizing hems or testing interfacing choices.


I have fabric scraps and awkward pieces of muslin that get used in patchwork style when doing garment testing (who cares if the muslin colors are all different?). Actually I have found a lot of my fabric scraps useful for sewing small examples to go along with Craftsy blog posts I have done, so that has worked out. And plenty of what are sold as throwaway plastic plant pots which get scrubbed out and then used to plant cuttings. But other things are more of a difficulty

In my last Random Threads I briefly mentioned the idea of "Tidying Up" by that I meant the Marie Kondo method which is so popular. Having not read the book I only have a passing idea about it but the overarching theme of minimalism is not my style. And there are things in my house that are not sparking joy but are completely useful - even if only at certain times. I can deal with most things but the category that is a conundrum is the meaningful, sentimental or beautiful but useless item. Do you keep or not?  I have some things that I just can't get rid of. Here are a few.

I bought these shoes the first time I was in Paris, at the end of a long trip that took me through Italy and onward to France. By the time I got there I had bought 6 pairs of shoes/boots and other assorted leather goods. But then I saw these and they came home as well. I did wear them a lot, but now they are about one size too small plus those heels and my back issues don't mix. But they are so pretty! So I keep them.



And now please don't laugh! Yes these are the original Calvin's. I seem to recall they were dark blue when I first bought them so obviously well used. Hey, teenage me thought they were utterly cool.



and another pair. These are Levi's with the iconic red tab on the pocket. I believe 525's for those of you who know your Levi's. Although they have messed around with the styles and they are not as reliable as they used to be. These are totally wearable now, straight leg jeans except for the color. But oh the denim. As perfect as denim can be, those old Levi's......



Saving the best for last, this is a cocktail dress from the late 1950's that belonged to my mother but which I adopted (stole from her extra closet) ages ago and have worn to so many parties. I know I have said many times that I rarely wear black but there is something about this dress that makes it one of the very best dresses I have worn. I lightened the picture so you can see the detail but it is inky black.  I think it looks good on the dress form but on the body it transforms to the ultimate va va voom vintage style - very 50's movie star. The dress is a black crepe and then the section at the waist is draped with chiffon, even a little bow. It is fitted but not tight, curvy in all the right places. The pleats in the bodice emphasize the bust and those little corners on the neckline just add some zing. I love, love, love this dress and have often thought about making a pattern from it to copy. One of these days.


And yet there is always something new to sew. I think that is the issue with making things, unless you give away or sell then you end up with stuff. Clothing is useful but at some point you have enough clothing, however I like to sew for the challenge, it is just something I enjoy doing and so I will continue although I should try to purge more things that are never worn.

Next random topic: Colette patterns. I am completely an outside observer when it comes to most of the independent pattern companies. As I have mentioned before I am not their target market which I think is now more geared to people beginning with sewing. Analyzing their business moves of late they are probably smart to try to diversify, creating an on-line magazine, changing the style of their patterns from a vintage-inspired to a more modern and simple look. But whew - I think their patterns are mostly blah - with a dash of sad and shapeless. If you are going to the trouble to create an online magazine with high quality photos then the examples shown should be stellar - and theirs seem to be barely adequate. Some of the things they show are really poorly done or have a terrible fit. I don't think it is deceptive to show a perfect version as the example, I want to see the way it should look. On another note about independent pattern companies, I just received the latest email newsletter from Stone Mountain Fabrics  and Suzan the owner mentioned that they would no longer be stocking Vogue/New Look etc. based on the pricing and what they are sold for in the big chain stores it was financially untenable for them. I completely see her point and if I do buy an indie pattern I try to buy it there at the store.

Let's talk about feet. Sewing machine feet. My various sewing machines have all kinds of different feet and yet I almost never change them. Including several different walking feet or ones with rollers etc. Just have not needed to do so and truthfully I forget they are even in the drawer. I would probably be happy with a straight-stitch only industrial machine. The machines for a home sewer that are made for a variety of stitches have that throat plate with the horizontal opening for the zig-zag and that thing seems made to swallow delicate fabrics. Which is why I will keep my old Singers humming along forever. But back to feet. Do you use this one - the open toe foot? Whew these things have funny names when you stop to think about it. But sometimes, particularly at night I find it impossible to see the stitching due to the plastic/metal pieces in the center of the regular foot. The open toe foot is better for seeing where the needle is going. But not as good at feeding the fabric along. I do tend to use it for really precise sewing, like on a collar edge where I want to be absolutely sure I am following the stitch line. Usually after I have messed up something, had to pick out the stitches and am ready for round 2.




The future of sewing is in good hands: I direct you to this blog:   anelisemadeit.blogspot.com. I'm not sure where I came across her blog but she was still in high school when I first read it. Now she is at MIT, still sewing and pursuing all kinds of interesting things, including academics :) And finding time to go to Boston Fashion week! I love her tag line "it's not bragging if you made it". Totally agree! Check this out, she made the Ralph Rucci Vogue pattern coat, in winter white. Fantastic. So another brainy stitcher to keep your eyes on.

I didn't even get to some of my other random topic scrawls, such as exposed zippers which I just don't get. What is the point? I find them jarring and they rarely add interest. Probably just me as their popularity doesn't seem to wane. This one falls in the category of to each her own. Actually I'm not much of a zipper fan in general, as a design element so actively avoid patterns that have a zipper for things other than closure. Personal sewing quirk - we all have them. What is yours?

Enough random thoughts for today - as usual I need to get outside and pull some weeds while the ground is still soft from the January rain. February has been dry and today it is supposed to be 75˚F.  What?  (my apologies to those of you in the eastern deep freeze) Oh well, it's a nice long weekend so we are enjoying it. Now off to Home Depot to buy mulch. What an exciting day, right?

Happy Valentines and/or President's day weekend sewing, Beth

how about something pink for today's garden photo? Things are starting to bud and bloom around here - as I mentioned, winter weather is just about over and I am already thinking about tomatoes :)
a pink azalea that lives near the front door.

My shirt obsession continues, and a Bootstrap Fashion custom jeans pattern is a nice suprise

That title pretty much encapsulates my sewing of late. I don't know why I am making so many shirts lately, although a shirt is a reasonably quick item to sew. And very satisfying to do all that precise work. I have this Simplicity pattern adjusted to perfection (S2339). Plus I have a file folder filled with alternate pattern pieces, to rotate the darts into gathers, or choose from various buttonhole plackets. This might be the closest I have ever come to creating a TNT pattern. While I have made some dress patterns and a few skirts over and over, this is the one pattern that I would reliably use to design something new. I have a yearning for a shirtdress for spring, and even bought the famous McCalls shirtdress pattern (MC 6696) however the other day the idea popped into my head to just use this shirt pattern and create a skirt. Hmmm.
So shirt details first and then the Bootstrap jeans custom size pattern details.

Back to this new shirt. Since it is plaid I decided to use my version where the horizontal bust darts are converted into shoulder gathers. Here's a link to a shirt with that detail, and here's a link to a post I did on Craftsy showing how to convert the dart to gathers.




This is one of the few fabrics that I have ever purchased at Fabrix in San Francisco on Clement St.  When I lived in the city I would stop in there once in while but now I rarely go to this store. I think Shams finds some treasures there periodically. It's one of those places that are hit or miss but lots of bargains. Although the parking in that neighborhood is insanely difficult. So it has been marinating on my fabric rack for a while - maybe 4-5 years. Which is unusual as I don't keep stuff all that long but it finally made it onto my cutting table.

The main reason I decided to use the shoulder gathers instead of the dart is for the plaid matching. Which worked a treat and I'm quite satisfied if I do say so myself :)  No pesky bust dart to throw off the side seam matching, thus the sleeves are matched too. Score!



That is a scorch mark on the side of my dress form (another garage sale purchase) I think it got too close to someone's wall heater in its previous life.

What am I looking at?  Bees!  so many honeybees already in the garden. Swarming all over this camellia. Which is the only one of its type in my garden, so sticky with nectar that the bees love it. And of course in most all the pictures my front button alignment is off a teensy bit. Oh that makes me crazy.



But here it looks OK. The buttons were also in my button box. I don't think I would have picked these particular ones out if I had been in the store choosing buttons for this shirt, but I had plenty, enough for shirt front and cuffs so it seemed like a good reuse.




A few touches of bias.



I received this sweater as a Christmas gift, so that is mostly what prompted me to use this fabric for a shirt.  Also why I tend to make shirtsleeves a bit on the long side, so I can flip up the cuffs when I am wearing a long sleeve sweater, just a habit. The colors are not exactly the same, but I think complementary. So far I have not worn either piece despite finishing about two weeks ago - maybe tomorrow.




Now for the Bootstrap Fashion Patterns jeans adventure. 
To sum up the experience - I am impressed!
I have sewed a Bootstrap Fashion pattern previously, a dress and the fit was very good. And since pants are my achilles heel of fitting - I figured why not try their new custom jeans pattern? Actually I am not at all interested in making jeans per se. I have lots of ready-to-wear jeans and I just find it way easier to buy them than to source the just right denim - do all that topstitching - tweak the fit etc. So jeans sewing - a phrase that my grandmother used to use comes to mind - I just can't be bothered. But pants in general - those I would like to sew more often. And a well fitting jeans pattern I could use to make pants in other fabrics, like cotton sateen for summer or corduroy for winter. On Bootstrap there are 3 different custom jeans patterns, listed in their Indie designer section. All by the same designer Vado, she created a skinny jeans pattern, an at-waist bootcut pattern and a loose boyfriend jeans style.
Skinny jeans are super cute on lots of people but I just never feel right in them - and having a very long rise a higher waist jean usually fits better so I picked that one.



As usual with Bootstrap patterns you enter your measurements for a custom fit. I was pretty exact with my measurements as I wanted to see how they came out, what kind of ease etc was designed in the pattern.




For the knee width I used the measurements from an existing pair of jeans that I have, also the leg opening (which is the bottom hem opening). Thinking about it later you could change those to obtain straight leg or any other variation. Much like their other patterns where you can choose belly shape (which I like to categorize as choosing anywhere between flat-abs up to 2nd trimester) on the jeans pattern it's not belly shape but you can indicate the shape of your bum. Useful! I picked average but for next time I might choose curvy.  The other change I will make next time (oh yeah, there will be a next time) is to increase the waist measurement entry. My waist is rather high, so my smallest natural waist point is probably 2 inches higher than where the top of the pants landed. I think if I add about 2 or 3 inches then the fit will be better around that spot and I can always take them in if needed.
Now for the result. I chose no-stretch for this version as I had a piece of 100% cotton corduroy to use for the test. Also I thought a non-stretch fabric would be a better indicator of fit. You can select fabric type, no stretch or various %'s of stretch which is clever.

Not bad huh?  The part that really amazed me was that the knee was in the right place, the length was correct, the back rise was just about right and the fit around the thighs felt like ready to wear jeans.



In the interest of science - sewing science :)   I am putting these fairly awkward photos of my rear view up here.  You can see the waist is a bit tight but in the right spot. I think the pockets are a bit oversized and low, I don't like jeans pockets to be at all on the thigh but that is easily changed. I left off the belt loops for this test version. Although maybe I will leave them off future versions depending on the fabric. On the other hand I wear belts a lot. Buying jeans/pants to fit my bum means the waist is so often too big. Perhaps it's time to fix that.



Front view.



In the front rise I think there is a bit too much length, generally pants that fit me best have a lower front and then are higher at the back waist. Also I think I used a too long zipper which messes up the front a bit. These were not ever gonna be real pants  (something I would wear out of the house) but I figured maybe usable, but then I went and cut a hole in the front under the zipper. So no, not wearable now.

That's the scoop on my Bootstrap fashion jeans experiment. Getting very near success. I think I will try another pattern, with the changes I noted about and also use a 1% or 2% stretch fabric. Because walking around in those corduroy pants made me realize how much I love a little bit of lycra.

Earlier this week I started another silk blouse - a version with the hidden buttonhole placket as several people left comments on my previous post that they would like to see how to do it. That will be coming up soon and it gave me an idea for a Craftsy post as well. (lately I am coming up blank on topics for my Craftsy blog posts - any suggestions would be welcome :) Do you read the Craftsy sewing blog? Some interesting stuff there. Where I have really learned some nice tips and tricks are by reading their other blog subcategories - cooking, gardening, photography are the ones I find useful.

So Super Bowl Sunday is just about over - despite having zero interest in either team it's fun to watch especially since it was here in the bay area. It has been madness all week. The city was crazy!
Also this happened today. Yep, spring is here. Although we are seriously hoping for more - more -  more rain. My new roses need it!



Happy Sunday sewing, Beth